Device for vacuum cleaning swimming pools



Oct. 10, 1961 c. B. FORRESTER DEVICE FOR VACUUM CLEANING SWIMMING POOLS Filed Dec. 8. 1959 I INVENTOR CLIVE B. FoRREsTER T'TORNEY United States Patent 3,003,169 DEVICE FOR VACUUM CLEANING SWllVIMlNG POOLS Clive B. Forrester, 10301 S.W. 69th Ave., Miami, Fla. Filed Dec. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 858,236 2 Claims. (Cl. -1.7)

This invention relates to an improvement in devices for cleaning the walls and bottoms of swimming pools.

In the small home pool, draining is usually accomplished with the same pump that fills the pool. Thus in the bottom of the pool, at the lowest point, is a drain cup with removable grille or strainer top.

The drain for the average pool is round or square, 6" or 8" diameter and about the same depth. A hole in its side accommodates a 2 pipe extending underground to the pump. By switching valves, water can be pulled out of the pool via this drain to a sprinkler system, a drainage ditch, or simply flooded over the yard. To refill the pool, this drain valve is closed and the well valve opened. The sprinkler system valve is closed and the pool inlet valve opened. The inlet is generally near the top water level of the pool.

The pool must be vacuumed to remove settlings of various kinds every week or two depending on conditions. Many pools have been and will be built without vacuuming attachment, but people soon tire of draining, scrubbing the floor and refilling their pools so often. They then face considerable expense for special equipment or plumbing to change over.

I have discovered that when the drain is open, the force of water passing through the drain creates hydrostatic pressure of considerable magnitude which can be successfully utilized to securely hold an appropriate seal in place while a cleaning tube and a head connected therewith are manipulated so that both a sealing and scavenging operation on the walls and bottom can be accomplished simultaneously.

The present device takes care of the problem in a simple manner, and, in the case of new pools reduces the cost by eliminating the need for an extra vacuum equipment attachment near the top of the pool, plus the required piping and valves for its use. In short, it simplifies and makes more economical the vacuuming problem. It is used in combination with an available type vacuum head and plastic or rubber suction hose.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical form of scavenging device including a seal which when attached to the cleaning tube and the drain is open for water to flow therethrough, the tube will be firmly anchored and sealed about the drain opening, and the cleaning operation can be readily and easily conducted by the operator.

With the above and other objects in view as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a swimming pool illustrating the application of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the cleaning tube seal, taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 3. a FIGURE 3 is a cross-section of the seal taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 4.

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the seal of FIG URE 2.

As will be observed from FIGURE 1, the device includes a cleaning head A, attached to one end of a long aluminum handle to be manipulated by the operator, and the other end is connected to a flexible hose B which is iice connected with a sealing device designated generally as C. This sealing device is of sufficiently large diameter to fit over and entirely cover the inlet end or cup of the drain pipeline designated generally as D.

The sealing member C is of special formation as shown particularly in FIGURES 2 and 3. That is to say, the seal includes a flexible body 1 of rubber or other equivalent, soft, pliable material. The body 1 may have any suitable geometrical shape but is usually made circular as shown in FIGURE 3 and of sufficient diameter to cover the drain cup of the drain pipe system D.

The bottom or inner face of the body 1 is preferably provided with means for preventing its collapse under pressure, such for example, as a series of spaced radial ribs 2 intended to maintain the substantially frusto-conical form of the body 1 when in use and also insure communication with the drain. In other words, the ribs 2 are of such vertical height and shape that their bottom edges will rest on the drain grille 3, while, at the same time, the channels therebetween will always communicate with the drain pipeline while the device is in use.

The central portion of the seal member C is provided with a hub 4 having an opening to receive the tube 4- which serves to couple the hose B to the seal. A strainer 5 is held in the hub at the end of the coupling tube. The strainer is preferably of a form having a bowl-like body with a peripheral flange to be engaged or embedded in the inner wall of the hub.

When it is desired to use the present apparatus, it is not necessary to enter the pool to locate the sealing device C over the drain. The vacuum head is provided with a long, optional to 20', detachable aluminum tube handle so vacuuming is accomplished without entering the pool. This is because the buoyancy of the body makes it impractical to manipulate the equipment. Also, sediment on the floor would be disturbed by the operators feet and a poor cleaning job accomplished.

Thus in preparation for vacuuming, the end of the hose B opposite the head A is slipped over coupling 4 of sealing head C and allowed to rest at the edge of the pool. In most cases, the user simply tosses the seal C to an area over the drain, and, as it slowly submerges, slips the long handle under the hose B to assist in guiding it down. If the drain is missed on the first attempt, the user merely pushes the seal in place with the handle. Many drains are near the edge, however, and the seal can be lowered accurately by hand while standing at the edge of the pool.

The seal C then lays over the drain cup D while the handle is attached to the vacuum head A and the head is lowered to slowly fill the hose with water. Everything ready, the user steps out and flips the drain pump switch, then returns and goes to work.

The tube 4*, strainer 5 and seal C should all be bonded or molded together as a unit. The hose B should be sep-v arate, andslipped onto the coupling 4 only as needed. Cf course, it could be left on but it is often more convenient to store separately. Also, if replacement of either seal or hose is necessary, it is accomplished easier.

In practice it has been established that it is practically impossible to pull the sealing member C from the drain entrance while the pump is on. Actually the magnitude of the aspirating force or suction on the sealing member is such that the hose would pull free first from coupling 4 The strainer will pick up any objects such as rings, hair pins, hair, ear plugs etc. which might harm the pump, and these can be recovered upon its removal. On the average of about two or three inches of water will be removed from the pool at each vacuum cleaning.

The strainer 5 should have sufficient open area to exceed by one half the 1 /2 coupling tube opening area to which it is attached.

The sealing unit C must have sufficient weight to sink to the bottom of the pool and thereby permit it to be selectively left over the drain when the pump is not operating. In other words, while coupling tube B is bonded to the seal C, the hose is detachable from the seal C so that only the head and the hose will re removed if desired.

The ribs 2 molded with the seal C, support the contour in a manner theoretically needed to allow fullfunctioning even if the seal is off center with respect to the drain outlet which could result in some cases.

I claim:

1. A device manually manipulatable from the earth edge portion of a swimming pool having a drain outlet in its bottom, said device comprising a flexible substantially flat frusto-conical sealing body adapted to fit over and form a seal with the drain outlet, said body having an openin a strainer provided with a marginal flange embedded in the edges of said opening to anchor the strainer in place, a flexible hose connected to said sealing body and serving to guide the same in the water from above its surface to the drain outlet and starting the cleaning operation and also to pass scavenging water to the drain through the sealing body after it is held about the sides of the drain opening by hydrostatic pressure, and a suction pick-up head carried by the end of the hose opposite said sealing body.

2. A device for cleaning swimming pools from the earth side of the pool and disposing foreign matter through a submerged drain outlet, comprising, in combination, a flexible hose, a cleaning head at one end of the hose for dirigible guidance by an operator at the pool side and above the surface of the water, a flexible hydrostatic sealing member at the other end of said hose also guidable by the hose to a position over the drain outlet, said flexible sealing member including a body having a central hub provided with an opening, a hose coupling in said opening detachably engaging the hose, means at the underside of the body preventing the body from collapsing under hydrostatic pressure and to maintain communication with said drain outlet and said head, and a strainer in said hub for collecting objects passing through the hose and coupling before they reach the drain outlet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 302,353 Pattison July 22, 1884 1,154,055 Reeves Sept. 21, 1915 1,937,441 Schacht Nov. 28, 1933 2,095,241 Cox Oct. 12, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 182,653 Switzerland May 1, 1936 

